By Amarachukwu Ehia, Abakaliki
Minister of Works, David Umahi, Monday, said the four legacy road projects of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu would connect all six geopolitical zones of the country and stimulate economic growth, food security and regional integration.
Umahi stated this while receiving a delegation from the ECOWAS Bank for Investment and Development (EBID), led by Maimouna Sidibe, at the Ministry of Works headquarters in Abuja, ahead of the approval of financing for Section One of the Trans-Sahara Super Highway.
The minister said the four legacy projects were deliberately designed as an interconnected transport network, noting that the 750-kilometre Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway links seamlessly with the Trans-Sahara Super Highway through Ndibe Beach in Cross River state.
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According to him, Section One of the Trans-Sahara Super Highway spans 123.64 kilometres from Ndibe Beach to the Benue border, while additional sections through Benue, Kogi and Nasarawa states have already been awarded.
Umahi described the corridor as a major agricultural and trade route, stressing that it would enhance food sufficiency and drastically reduce travel time between Calabar and Abuja to about four hours.
“It has long existed and remains a major food corridor. It is critical to food sufficiency in our country,” he said, adding that the road would connect major agricultural belts in Ebonyi, Benue and Cross River states.
The minister further disclosed that the Federal Government plans to utilise dams along the corridor for irrigation and renewable energy generation, saying the project would also create factories, boost investments and generate jobs through tolling and corridor development initiatives.
He explained that the Trans-Sahara Super Highway would connect with another legacy project through the Abuja-Akwanga corridor extending to Jos, Bauchi, Gombe, Biu and Maiduguri, adding that the recently flagged-off Gombe-Biu section covers 125 kilometres and is being constructed as a six-lane highway.
Earlier, leader of the EBID delegation, Maimouna Sidibe, said the bank had already advanced the project to appraisal stage after positive consideration by its first credit committee, adding that the project would proceed to the second credit committee next week and thereafter to the Board of Executive Directors in July for final approval.
